What is policy analysis? 1.21.12

It is identifying a piece of legislation that passed one house of Congress and completing these tasks:

1. Summarizing the legislation’s purpose and the method of implementation

2. Describe what legislators are introduced to the bill and why

3. Describe what legislators, political parties, and interest groups supported or opposed the legislation and why

4. Describe whether the law passed, by what majority, and with what riders

5. Describe whether the law was vetoed by the president and why

6. If the bill passed into law when this was done and whether it has been fully implemented

Notes

–This will include looking up the historical background of the issue discussed (i.e. religious freedom violations–look up the background of the incidents and countries). The background can be general or specific

–The purpose of the legislation is the reason it exists–why was it written, debated, and eventually voted upon? What were the motivations of the sponsors

–Introduction of the bill means who sponsored it, where and when

–The sponsors should be listed (and their party affiliations described); similarly the co-sponsors should be listed and characteristics about them discussed (how many are there, party affiliation, region of the nation they hail from, etc)

–Some pieces of legislation may not be implemented because they are not laws–there are any number of reasons why that may be so–research why that may be

Policy analysis: religious freedom violations in the middle east…to be continued